


Grey is but a Color

by BL4R1233



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Fluff, Flushed Romance | Matesprits, Pale Romance | Moirallegiance, Pretty much all of the main trolls, implied matespritship, johnvris, that'd be tedious, too lazy to tag all of them
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-06
Updated: 2014-07-11
Packaged: 2018-01-03 16:24:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1072628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BL4R1233/pseuds/BL4R1233
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They won SGRUB. Their friends are back. But the 16 teammates find themselves in a strange world consisting of both species, and are forced to consult the Condensce to stop the mad woman from culling all the humans. In a attempt to negotiate, John is captured and transformed into a troll.</p>
<p>Trust me, the story's better than the summery x)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Heir of Breath: Wake up

**Author's Note:**

> ANOTHER ONE? SHE MADE STARTED ANOTHER SERIES??--shhh, I know, but this one is almost finished in my notebook. I really hope you enjoy this, But a Color was my first serious fic written and I intend to complete it.
> 
> MAJOR writer's block on Brothers in Blood and My Buck-toothed Addiction, but until those are written I fully intend to update this.
> 
> Enjoy~

Black. That’s all there is and for all you care, all there ever will be. You find yourself okay with that. Why are you okay with that? Because it’s peaceful. Yes, you suppose it’s peaceful. For some reason it feels as if the sudden vacuum of never-ending black has lifted a great weight off your shoulders. You could get used to this. Feeling at peace.

You’re not entirely sure how long you are in the darkness. It could be weeks, days, a second. You’ve no clue, but suddenly the black around starts to lighten. Panic sets in. No. It can’t be leaving you!!...it’s so nice here…

“John! John, I swear if you don’t wake up…’ A voice hazy as fog skirts around in the emptiness. John. Your name is John. In the instant you realize this, the darkness seems to close in on you like a sprung trap, suffocating you in the *nothingness* of it all—not a haven, no. A prison.

Your name is John and you need to leave now. RIGHT NOW. You lift what you assume to be your arm and attempt to choke out, “I’m here,” but the blackness presses in, syrupy and bitter, clogging your throat. And gosh, does it make your throat hurt. Your voice is lost in an attempt to rid your mouth of the sticky substance, ripping forth a ragged cough from your lungs. The blackness recedes, greys at the edges.

The next moment an icy feeling grips you, and the grey erupts in a sudden ray of light, tendrils of cold wrapping around you, pulling, pulling—and you’re whisked away, as if in a gust of wind.

And everything. Everything. E V E R Y T H I N G.  
Comes alive.

Your eyes flicker open with a gasp of breath, and your retinas are exposed to a purply sky. Stars twinkle above you and you try to lift your arm to touch them. This…is so much better than the nothing. you think. What’s that annoying buzzing sound? Drunkenly, you tilt your head towards the source of the noise. Ah, so *that’s* where it’s coming from.

A girl with long, black hair, buck teeth, and blue eyes is talking incoherently, tears streaming down her face. The sound registers as talking and you remember that this girl is Jade, your ecto-sister. From Earth. All at once you are bombarded with a mess of memories, and you are reminded of everything.

“Jade?” you rasp, and damn your throat is still burning. She smiles and chokes on a sob, then proceeds to attempt Murder by Hug. “You’re...hurting…me!”

“I thought you were dead! Everyone else came back but you wouldn’t wake up and—I—ohmyGod, John—”

“Shhh, I’m fine,” you whisper hoarsely. That’s right. You beat the game. You and Jade and Rose and the trolls and… “Jade, where is everyone?”

“Right here, Egderp.” A familiar voice makes itself heard. Turning your head, you smile weakly to find Dave kneeling by your side. Beside him are all of your friends and the trolls you met, including some other faces you recall seeing in dream bubbles on your three-year-voyage. These must be the trolls Karkat said died before you got a chance to meet them.

“Guys, you’re all here.” The words escape your cracked lips in a murmur, and as you fade from consciousness, you smile with all you’ve got.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“John?” you yelp, panicked, and put an ear to his chest.

“Calm down Jade, the guy just fell asleep. For fucks sake he *died* I think he deserves a moment to conk out.” Dave’s firm but gentle hand makes its way to your shoulder and carefully peels you off. You nod, but uneasily. John’s not leaving your fucking *sight* until he wakes up. Your brother gave his life in the final efforts to kill Lord English. And you had no intent on letting him get too far from you again.

Your train of thought is broken when the indigo-clad troll decides to open his mouth. “So, THIS loww blood monkey saywed us? Pff, I expected MORE, honestly,” he scoffs. When you look at him there is murder in your eyes.

“Yes, Eridan,” Kanaya says coldly, “John’s attack ensured our victory. And he certainly proved to be more of a hero than *some* people on our team.” She raises an eyebrow threateningly. The fishy troll gulps nervously and mumbles an apology.

Your name is Jade and you and your friends defeated SGRUB no longer than four hours ago. Upon defeating the tyrannical cherub boss the game seemed to experience another scratch—suspending you all in a null and void space in the universe before spitting you out in…New York City? No, all of you had decided a while after awakening it was *definitely* not New York, mostly because the trolls seemed to recognize it too. A double take assured you that yes; there were twelve trolls now as well as dozens of aliens and humans strewn about, all in a deep sleep.

The environment your group currently found themselves in seemed some weird mixture of Earth and you guess Alternia? The stars are out but the sky is a dark purple, and one green moon hangs by its lonesome in the sky.

“It seems SGRUB had reset the world to the victors’ homes…but seeing as both parties won, it mixed. Meaning everything and everyone is back.” Rose had concluded once you were all more or less awake.  
It only took a moment for it to register that that meant John would be back too and—when you found him, laying a little ways away from the group, you’d nearly collapsed from relief. 

Now, as he lies with his head cradled in your lap, chest steadily rising and falling, you can’t help but feel as if you’re in a dream. Roses’ collected voice once more stirs you into reality.

“If my conclusion was correct, than several other things can be said about our current predicament. “

“Like?” you nearly bark. You wish she’d get to the point: it’s been so confusing these past four hours.

“One; All of us, even those who died, are back. However, notice an absence?”

“Our wicked as fuck ancestors. AND THE OTHER PINK MONKEYS. Honk.” At the sound of Gamzee’s voice you all visibly flinch. You’d almost forgot he was there. Almost.

“Y-yes, Gamzee, correct,” Rose quickly recovers, “it appears that only our two parties made it back, and not the alternate realities. As for your ancestors, they were from a doomed—failed, however you want to put it—time. So like all of our doomed selves in the bubbles we met, they are now nonexistent. All of the people who were from our successful universes seem to be back as well, which leads to my next point.”

“Spill it Lalonde,” Karkat growls. It’s not threatening or impatient. More like annoyed that he couldn’t come to these conclusions himself.

“The Condensce from your world is back.” A harsh silence falls over the group.

“Rose is right,” A bubbly voice breaks the pause. All eyes swivel to her. “I can feel her threat to my existence, her presence. It’s not far from here either. I think this place is part of the old Land Palace.”

“If that is the case we should report at once. Lest our queen see the pink flesh aliens and cull them on sight,” the tall, muscular troll comments. Dave bristles at this, cool guy façade slipping for an instant.

“So, we have to go find the ruler we killed in an alternate dimension? You ask, a bit uncomfortable.  
“Correct,” he replies.

“And as the future queen, she has to hold council with me if I demand it,” the bubbly girl pipes, “ I can point us in her direction. This weird hybrid city is sort of familiar…this way!” she says with a squeak and points down the skyscraper-lined street. Far, far down the street (that reminds you vaguely of pictures of Main Street you’ve seen) is the faded outline of an enormous building.

“Alright then, at least we have a plan now. Feferi,” Karkat looks at the strange fishy troll, “ Lead the way. Eridan keep your purple lips sealed, and Equius, carry Egbert. We need to get to the FishBit—Condencse as soon as possible,” he quickly recovers at the glare—Feferi, was it?—throws him. 

Before you know what is happening, the other mumble in agreement. The troll you that must be Equious roughly pulls John from your lap and slings him over her shoulder like a sack of flour. Feferi glubs happily and takes her place in the front of the group. 

“Hey, guys, wait a sec—“ you sputter.  
“Stupid loww bloods bossin’ me around…”  
“Eridan, what the HELL did I just say??”  
“This is going to be an insuuuuuuuufferable walk,” a lean girl clad in godtier complains.  
“HEY!” you scream, and the group jumps. Equius starts and drops John unceremoniously to the ground. “My apologies,” he mutters, and scoops him back up.

“What about US? The humans? We have leaders here, too, ya know.”

“I know how you feel, Jade, but the trolls honestly don’t care. If what Kanaya has told me is true, the trolls are experienced conquers. It would be wise to seek the Condensce first.” 

“Yeah, listen to the snarky bitch—OWW!” Eridan yelps when Kanaya pulls sharply his fin.

Karkat nods, “Common’, Harley.” The rest of the group turn and begin to follow Feferi. You are left on the cold and uncomfortable asphalt of the road, confused and angry. A few humans and trolls that regained some consciousness look at you curiously and you bare your fangs in a snarl before reluctantly standing up to follow.


	2. Wakeup Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group makes it to the palace to see what they can do to convince the Condensce to let the humans go.  
> Panic ensues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...chapter two yay! Major editing from the original story, but follows with the same outcome. I know pacing was a bit frantic(Maybe it wasn't? I'm tired and prroooabably should have waited till I was more awake to type.) but I really tried to capture John's state of mind. Anyhow, to the chapter!  
> Enjoy~

“Ugh…” lifting your eyes is like lifting a fifty-pound curtain, and you barely manage at that. The shapes and shades are all there, but they aren’t quite registering with your heavy mind at the moment. For one thing, there’s pink—pink everywhere. It hangs in rivulets from the ceiling, spirals down in a whirlwind of designs on the wall, and grins back at you through irritatingly cheery uniforms of the…wait. 

Uniforms?

Forcing the lids of your eyes open, the shapes come into focus. Yes, they are uniforms, and yes the uniforms are being worn. You mentally slap yourself: why wouldn’t uniforms be worn? Yep, there are most *certainly* floating clothes about, defying the laws of gravity and physics. 

It just so happens that the happy-go-lucky color is not adorned by girls, no, but seven-foot-tall brutes wielding deadly looking staffs that are barbed to the tip. There are only two and they stand statue-still in front of two, surprisingly very gold, large doors.

Fear grips you for a moment—where the hell ARE you—until the other shapes in the room come into focus. Far to the other side of the room are a dozen lean, grey figures whom you peg as the trolls you met in the game, and just in front of you huddled in a whispered argument are the three people whom you’ve come to love most in your messed up little world; Jade, Rose, and Dave. 

An attempt to sit up makes you register the (Ugh, pink) fluffy blankets that are currently binding you to a bed. 

“John, you’re awake!” Rose exclaims, and instantly the three of them are all around you. You make a strangled noise and pull weakly at the blankets holding you captive, and Jade’s mouth forms an ‘o’ before ripping them off you.

How do you feel, she asks. Fine, fine, you croak. Rose comes out of nowhere with a bottle of water. You greedily suck it down. The water feels good in to your scratchy throat, and makes you a little drowsy as your body quickly gets to work at distributing it. A little strength returns. You think you hear a troll say your name. You think it’s Karkat. You KNOW it’s Karkat now because, God, his voice is already harping you in your ear. You think, How does he move across a room so fast?, but mostly you think, Jeez this guy needs to learn to use an indoor voice. Maybe you can prank him for totally spoiling your sleepy reunion with your friends later. Maybe. After a moment Jade gently pushes him away. Where are we, you ask. It’s…complicated, she says. You think you ask for an elaboration, but far too quickly you are pulled back into a state of unconsciousness.  
~*~  
“Hey, nookwhiff, you finally up now?”

“Mmmwassit?” A drunken slur babbles from your lips and you faintly crack your eyes. Pink again. Bluh.

 

“You look awful. Good to see you’re alive though, and hopefully awake for more than a damn minute. We’ve been waiting for your ass to wake up all day.” Karkat’s voice seems to have less bite and is noticeably tired.

“Good to see you too Karkitty,” you smile and pat him awkwardly on the nose. He dumps you off the bed.

“What, no good morning, glad to see you’re alive?” Smiling, you heave yourself up off the floor and slump back against the bedpost. That wasn’t too hard. You’re not even really tired anymore, at least. “Where is everyone? And where are we?”

“Everyone else had some sense and finally went to sleep after waiting *twelve fucking hours* for you to wake up. But I can’t sleep,” his voice loses volume as he goes, “so I was making sure you were okay.”

You smile your signature smile at this; Karkat tries to make out to be an ass but you know the guy really cares about his team. “But where are we?”

Karkat visibly deflates in the dim lights of the room, “In our new universe, in some fucked up hybrid capital, in the Condensce’s Land Palace.”

Oh.

You are about to open your mouth to further question him when the lights flicker on. A queasy feeling swishes in your gut when Feferi’s voice pipes into the harsh light, “The Condescension will see us now.” All around you the tired and annoyed voices of your teammates grumble and are summed up adequately by Dave’s emotionless and deadpan word:

“Shit.”  
~*~  
“You sure you’re okay?” Dave asks. It’s rare for him to be concerned. You really *must* look awful.

“Yeah, dying sucks…but I’m good now, promise. A bit freaked out though. Karkat gave me the rundown when we were getting made ‘presentable.’ So we’re really trying to stop the trolls from destroying the rest of us?”

He nods. Well, damn it. This just isn’t a way to wake up.

“And if what you guys said is true, then all of the humans and trolls from before the game should be back?” your best bro reads you like a book.

“Yeah, Egbert, our guardians are alive. Somewhere.”

“Rea—”

“Quiet!” the gruff voice of one of the guards echoes in the long hallway that you’ve all been walking down. Just in front of you are two incredibly huge doors made of—of—solidgoldhopyshit. “We are about to enter. Don’t try anything funny.” As if to make himself more threatening the big, purple-hued guards puff out the fins on the sides of their faces. You think it works.  
~*~  
After a lot of explaining and glubbing the Condensce growls out, “So. What you are trying to tell me is that *I* have been dead for over a sweep after our universe was destroyed and you brought it back…along with these…’humans.’” Her voice is harsh and quick, and reminds you vaguely of a sassy black woman who don’t need no—okay okay there is at least one or two physic trolls here and you should end that thought right now.

The sixteen of you are standing (well, kneeling) in a grand hall that is heavily adorned with treasure and, surprise surprise, pink. At the top of a pearly white throne is the Condensce herself, leg drooped lazily over the other, leaning forward in an almost predatory stance. It makes you want to squirm the way she’s looking at all of you.

“That is correct.” Feferi bows low, horn’s barely scraping the tiles of the floor. She is the only one permitted to stand.

“And all of this happened because you played a little wriggler’s game?” She seems amused, if not slightly angered, at your little group, “Who’s responsible for beating the game?”

“John Egbert, a human from former Earth.” She glubs, and reaches for the hem of your God Tier sleeve. Ungracefully you pull yourself up and bob your head in what you hope is a bow. “He delivered the final blow that killed Lord English.”

You stand up a little straighter and puff out your chest. That’s right. You *did* defeat him. You shouldn’t be scared of some fish alien. But damn, is she scary.

Her cold, calculating gaze looks over you briefly, then, “If what my…successor,” she spits the word, “Says is true, than you are a kind of God?”

“Y-yes your m-majesty ( No. There will be no stuttering Egbert PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER MAN) I am.” Where is she going with this?

“Prove it.”

For a moment it feels as if someone just threw your stomach down from the roof of the Empire State Building. Whoops, there goes all feeling! Are your powers even THERE anymore? Praying to any God that is listening, you mouth ‘please’ and close your eyes. Focus Egbert, focus. Your race is counting on you.

And there it is, wrapping around you and twirling lazy circles around your body, whistling happily in your ears. Its master is alive. It’s you. The Heir of Breath.

Slowly, almost painfully, you will yourself upward, bending and warping the wind around you into a gust that lifts you up, up, up into the air. Behind you, you hear the collective breath of your friends release. Sadly, you are only able to keep the air with you for a moment before it gently brings you back down. An instant wave of exhaustion hits you with the release of adrenaline. 

Tiredly, you smile up at the intimidating alien; her claws clench the sides of her throne.

“You’re telling the truth,” she grits. Yes! You’re free to go, she’s afraid of you, of what you have done of what you can do and it doesn’t matter if you’re tired maybe you can all live together and—her lips twitch up in a smile. Yours crashes into a frown. “You saved my hide, yes. But what about the rest of your race? They were just as dead as me. Oh *no* motherglubber,” she purrs, “your race ain’t off the hook. I will spare them…but only just. Kid, I am not the Condensce for no reason.”  
She stands up and slowly descends the stairs as she talks, and any sense of power over her you thought you had—oh no, no, none of you were strong enough to take her down right now.

She stands at least eight feet tall, and walks almost cat-like on the balls of her toes and smiles with that Chesure Cat smile; all teeth and craze and cunning. In no time it all she is looming over you. Slowly, so slowly, she lowers her face to yours and cups your chin. Her claws prink your skin. 

“I wasn’t the ruler of galaxies for being pretty. You humans may live, but it will be under slavery to the trolls.”

The Fight or Flight reaction swells up in your chest like fire. She is bad. She is ruthless. She could *kill you right here.*

“W-what?” you breathe. 

From behind you a deep voice yells angrily, “Hold on Fishbitch—” and is cut off with a resounding smack and a followed by a yelp. Who was that? Dave? Oh God no. The Condensce tilts her head and shifts her predatory pink eyes over your head. You crane your neck to see him. Let him be okay.

Dave is clutching the side of his head. It’s pouring blood. The guard is holding a gun to his head and God that’s way.  
Too.  
Much.  
B   
l   
o   
o   
d.

In a flash the rest of the guards are around your group, successfully blocking your view.

“Watch your mouth, boy,” she purrs, and it sends chills down your neck, “You may have won the game, but as I see it, you only brought me another world to conquer. Of course…I could just kill them instead. It’d be a lot effort on my part.”

Suddenly the shiver turns from that of fear to anger. But you are completely at her mercy. “F-fine.” You stutter, barely containing the rage bubbling in your throat.

“I’m glad we see eye-to-eye.”

Finally, FINALLY, her terrible figure retreats and in a flash she is up the steps and sitting upright on her throne, “Guards, send out the armed forces to corral the humans and send them to viewing sites. Strip them of any weapons. Kill those who resist,” she leans back, “We should have the world back in order before lunch tomorrow.”

God you really, really hate this woman.

Oh, but it seems she’s not done yet. “You, our hero,” she smiles her toothy smile and you shudder under her glare, “We can’t have it going down in history that our savior was a…pink bananabeast. Plus, I don’t want you stirring up retaliation. So, I think it’s best you go down in history as one of us, hm?”

What? “What?” your mouth echoes your thoughts. What is she going to do to you??

“Poor thing. We’re going to make you a troll, glubcake. And you’re friends? They’re gonna die.” She motions and before you can react four scarily strong arms clamp down on your sides. Several things happen at once.

From behind you, you hear Dave cry out and it is followed by the whipping sound of metal through the air. The shuriken find their mark in the Condensce’s fin along her neck. The Condensce cries out in pain—so does Dave, as the sound of a Taser cracks through the air. You hear Rose cry out his name and Jade yells out yours. They are muffled. The sound of a body hitting the floor. White noise. What the hell is going on?

“Send him to the torture rooms! DAMNIT MAKE HIM SUFFER.” The Condensce roars out in a terrifying shriek. Foot steps. Sobbing. You think it’s Jade’s. Probably you, too. 

The guards spin you around—and you can finally see your group. Jade is on her knees, being held back by Rose and Kanaya as she struggles helplessly to go after Dave. The trolls are being strip searched and are surrounded by guards. Several have their guns aimed at you. Too much.

It’s too.  
Damn.  
Much.

You don’t even resist when they shove you all out and into the hallway. Don’t even blink when you see Dave’s unconscious body being dragged around the opposite corner. Don’t look at Jade or Rose, no, you don’t think you could bear to look at them now you’re too ashamed and dammit why don’t you do anything? The enormous doors to the grand hall shut behind you.  
~*~  
“DNA swap, the Condensce orders,” one of the freakishly large guards restraining you yells. You’re not even entirely sure how you got here; you vaguely remember walking hall after hall lined with garish décor. You are now outside a strangely plain door labeled simply ‘lab,’ the group of humans and trolls behind you waiting silently. Jade is sniffling.

“Hm? Speak up!” a crabby voice screeches. The door flies open. You are ushered in. The door slams shut behind you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliffhangers!!! :D Ahhhh any feedback on the chapter or writing is appreciated. Thanks for reading guys, chapter 3 should be up sometime this before Sunday.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> IT HAPPENS, GUYS.
> 
> IT HAPPENS.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOOOO LATE UPDATES.  
> Would've had this posted this weekend but I had no access to my laptop C:  
> This series is not dead, I just suck with updating xD School's out, FINALLY, so the next part for this and Bucktoothed Addiction should be up next weekend.  
> Enjoy~

The room is large and white, and not nearly as adorned as the rest of the palace. Large, complicated looking machines fill the room and bring it to the point of cramping, emitting various buzzes and beeps. From behind what looks like an oversized eggbeater emerges a curious looking troll with tall, corkscrew horns protruding from a receding hairline.

“The queen requests a DNA swap,” the guard restraining you repeats. But it’s not like you need restraints: you’re tired and worn out and disoriented. Without warning, he releases his grip and you collapse onto the floor. Receding footsteps tell you they’ve left the room.

Probably to escort your friends to their deaths. And you can’t do a damn thing.

The troll steps forward and regards you with curious and wide green eyes, “Ah, yes, the hero of the game. Word spreads wuickly in this palace I assure you. The whole world will know your lot in a few days' time…” he grumbles to himself. You think he’s going to speak but are surprised when he kicks you roughly in the ribs. Your eyesight goes hazy.

“Well? Get up, ‘hero’, I’m not going to help you.”

Hesitantly and with great fatigue, you stand. The troll scowls and pulls you farther in the room. He stops at a large grey control panel towards the back that’s attatched to a giant tube. “Stay here.” He snaps, and disappears behind a control panel that looks suspiciously like the one you used to close yourselves and the alpha kids. After fiddling with the keys for a moment the tube slides open and lights up with a ping. Your captor makes a weird throaty noise and flicks his hand at the door. You suddenly become very aware of your situation.

“Wait.”

“What is it? I’m a very busy troll.”

“I…I don’t want this. You can’t make me,” you say, and take a step backward. Using the last reserves of your strength, you summon the wind. It filters weakly through the room and swirls around your wrist. The effort nearly makes you faint, and you release with a pant. The troll just sneers.

“Kid, this room is completely surrounded by the best Alternia had to offer. I am a psionic and you put you into cardiac arrest with a mere flex of a neuron, and on top of that, you are in clearly no position to put up a fight. Now step into the damn tube, I have better things to do.”

Admittedly, this stumps you. What little fight you had is washed away. You’re tired. So tired. 

Sighing, you stumble into the tube. Its glass doors slide into place. The tapping of claws on the control panel is the only thing that alerts you of the troll.

“Will this even work?” you ask through the glass.

“Most likely,” he snaps back. Wonderful. You kill the strongest demon in three universes and you’re probably going to die, *again,* in a stupid lab by the hands of a troll you don’t even know.

BEEP. With a metallic buzz the machine begins to vibrate, and you wait for…whatever is supposed to happen.

And then you break into a scream that ravages your lungs by a pain that threatens to tear you apart.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP MAKE IT STOPMAKEITSTOPMKTSTPPLEASEGOFSTPSTPSTP!!!”  
John’s inhuman screams slixe through the air of the long corridor and jumble together in an incoherent mess. You feel something die on the inside.

Your ragged group stand on the outside, separated from your brother by a steel door, helpless to do anything but listen to his agony as it filters through.

Rose buries her head in Kanaya’s hair while you clutch Karkat for support. The usually ornery troll says nothing, his lips pressed together and eyes screwed shut. The other trolls look on at the door, uncomfortable and scared. You figure the screams don’t bother them as much as most of them are experienced murders: they are most likely scared of what will happen to them once John is finished.

Finally, the screams stop. All eyes are trained on the door. A minute passes by. Two. Three.  
Ten.  
Fifteen.

Dave was already taken to the torture rooms; if you lost John too you might just loose it. The silence stretches on.

And you snap. Barely thinking of what will happen next, you use your Witch of Space powers—if John has the Windy Thing, you should have yours too. Before anyone can react you create an energy wave and send it rippling through the area around you. It passes harmlessly through your friends, but the guards take the full force. Your captors fly backwards and slam against the wall. Everyone stiffens and turns to you. Time seems to stop.

“GRAB JOHN!” you scream. And all Hell breaks loose. Some of the guards have already recovered and grope for their guns. They bring them up and fire green bolts rapidly in your direction. Thinking fast, you faze your body into space and the bolts pass through and are redirected at the unfortunate trolls. The sound of agonized screams echo through the hall and the smell of burned flesh meets your nose. For a moment the guards twitch, then go still.

“Wwait! Wwhat the HELL dog girl?” Eridan gasps. Turning your eyes to the alien you see he looks sick, “Fuck, they’re gonna kill us for sure noww.” Suddenly he whips around and yanks Feferi by the wrist and pulls her down the hallway. Her arguments of protest follow them down the corridor and disaapear around the corner.

“Jade—“ Karkat starts to say.

“What the hell are you all looking at me for? Help me get John out of here!” you move to rip the door off its hinges when a hand grips your shoulder.

“No. Whatever protheth he’th going through could kill him if we interrupt,” Sollux’s nasally voice growls.

“But, my brother—”

“There they are! They killed the guards, the girl and the lowwbloods!”

All attention is brought to the end of the hall. Eridan stands with a hand over Feferi’s mouth surrounded by at least thirty guards, a crazed and desperate look in his eyes. Tears stream down Feferi’s face. Her eyes plead, ‘run’.

“Shit,” you’re reminded of the group when the Karkat swears, “Lousy fucking TRAITOR.” He grabs your hand before you can protest. Shots fire down the hall behind you as you retreat, singing your hair and missing you by a breath. All of you are about to clear the corner when a shriek: Aradia has been shot. You look in her direction and see her smoking figure drop to the ground. Pinwheeling, you mean to grab her when the troll is obscured by crackling red and blue.

“Keep going! I’ve got her!” Sollux shouts, already lifting the girl towards them.

Before you even take a step you hear another scream, but this one is full of ferocity.  
“Equius! Put me down! STOP!”  
“I’ve already lost you once, Nepeta, and never again. I am sorry.” The large blue troll has the little green troll slung over his shoulder, one hand raised in surrender and the other keeping a struggling Nepeta in a deadlock grip, “We have nothing to do with this,” he yells to the guards and they wave him in. The boy hurries to Eridan.  
Before you tear your stare away you see he is not the only one—The blue girl and Gamzee are also making their way back towards the guards.

Damn Traitors.

Sollux’s shouts bring you back to the situation at hand. You clear the corner just as a bolt of green energy surges past. You come to an abrupt halt when Karkat holds out a hand. He’s trembling, with fear or shock, you don’t know. You open your mouth to ask him why he stopped when another wave of guards comes into view around the next corner.

You’re trapped.

“Fuck this running shit,” Karkat grolws and his dual sickles emerge from his syllidex, “I’m not going out without a fight. We came too fucking far for it to end like this.”

“No need,” Rose’s calm voice is like a beacon of sanity in the desperate situation. The girl equips her needles and flicks them quickly at the wall; it is blasted away in an enormous explosion, scattering debris everywhere. A drop of about twenty stories yawns out at you through the hole. A light bulb goes off in your head. 

“Jump!”

“Are you insane, Jade?” Terezi speaks up, and breaks out into a cackle that is totally inappropriate for the situation, “I like it.”  
“Terezi, don’t encourage her insanity,” your leader’s voice cracks and looks back and forth at you and Terezi in desperation.

“I can teleport us—watch out!” you shove him down and reflect a hurling bolt back down the hallway. It’s firer cries out in agony, “Let’s not stand here, move it! Trust me!”\

“But WHERE? We don’t know any place on this fucking plane—AHFUUUUUUUU—” Karkat’s words are lost to the howl of the wind when you shove him out. The others follow suite. You jump out last and pray that this works. Man, it would suck if you just coordinated a group suicide.

Mustering all of your concentration you picture an island, a volcano, a tower—and suddenly you hit the cushioning, prickly embrace of tall grass. All around you, your party members grunt with impact. After a moment of disorientation everyone sits up and check to make sure they are intact.

“Wonderful idea, Jade,” Rose is first to speak after making sure her girlfriend—matesprit? Fuck it—is okay.

“Thanks for saving our asses, but warn me next time you intend to push me off a fucking building. Did you even know that would work?” Karkat complains, but his eyebrows knit together with regret almost instantly when a tear rolls down your cheek, “Shit, I was just messing with you. I’m grateful, really…dammit don’t cry.” The boy stands to walk over to you and places a tentative hand on your shoulder.

“No…no Karkat,” you sob.  
“Then what is it?”  
“We couldn’t save John and Dave.”  
An uneasy silence descends on the group.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The first thing you registered upon waking up was pain. An aching, thudding sort of pain that pulsed with each heartbeat. It woke you from your sleep and hammered at your head, and you remember thinking you’d rather be dead. But you couldn't die.

The caretakers made sure of that.

They quickly rushed to your side and asked you questions you really rather wouldn’t have liked to answer; can you see? Yes, you could see, could you turn the damn lights off already? The light’s aren’t on, you have enhanced vision. Oh. Any pain? Yes, hell yes. Scribbles on a notepad. They held you back on the table, while you, too weak to retaliate, received one of the most painful shots of your life. It would numb some of the pain, they said. Then the room spun and the lights finally dimmed and you fell asleep to the beep of your heart monitor.

Hours later, or days, or weeks, you were forcibly woken up by your caretakers. They ripped the I.V from your arm and practically threw you on the floor. You could stand, but only just. You were free to go and you weren’t their problem anymore. Now get the hell out.

Some way or another you were led from the medical wing of the palace and out to the main gate where several guards waited for you. They gave you a chest of coins, your clothes(they had apparently been stripped when you were emitted), and something called a shellphone that looked an awful lot like a cell phone, but no, apparently it was different and one-way: when the Condensce called, you answered. And then they locked you out.

Now you find yourself wandering down the enormous and frightfully busy streets of the strange capital. Your migraine is gone, for the most part, and the light of the red sun is easy on your eyes.  
Where do you go? You’re lost, alone, an ALIEN, and your friends—you feel bile rising in your throat—what happened to them? You were a horrible leader…you didn’t even put up a fight when Dave was Tasered.

No, no you were not a terrible leader. Maybe you’re friends escaped and are somewhere in the city?

You decide that as long as there is a shred of hope, it’s worth looking for them. And so you search. After a few hours of peeking your head down all the alleys and scoring the sidewalks (even calling out their names, but that just earned you a bunch of irritated looks from the trolls around you) your stomach growls. You can’t search if you have no energy, so you head into the first market you wander upon.

And see an all-too familiar face.

“Vriska!” you stumble forward and wave your hands to try and catch her attention. The blue blood looks at you and sneers, then gets hurries off to get away. Damn, she must not recognize you as…this. A crushing sadness falls on your shoulders, but you steel yourself and shove through the crowd. She’s fast, but you use the little of your power you can muster to give yourself a small speed boost, hovering an inch off the floor. You catch up to the troll as she tries to disappear behind a stall and she whips around, fangs flashing.

“What the hell do you want?” she hisses, and you flinch at the bitterness in her words. Slowly, you lower your hand to your side.

“Vriska…it’s me. John.”

“John?” she repeats, surprise edging in her tone, then breaks into an easy smile, “Oh heeeeeeeey. I thought you were dead, Egbert,” her casual tone throws you off a bit, and you must look ruffled because she laughs.

“N-nice to see you too?” Wow, not quite the reunions you were looking for, but okay.

“So, where’ve you been,” she aks, slipping into a conversational tone as if you were discussing the weather. Oh yeah, it’s nice out today, perfect weather for capturing and forcibly turning a kid into an alien, “Your friends went apeshitcrazy and killed a bunch of guards when you went under; the Condensce made us all leave after that. She spared us highbloods, and the catgirl toooooooo, for cooperation. So where were you in all of this, Head Hauncho Leader, rooming with the Queen herself for the past month?”

“Wait wait wait, back up.I’ve been out for a month? My friends killed a bunch of people?” That didn’t sound like his friends at all, well, at least not the humans. And for them not to even TRY and save him? Not cool!

Her eyes go wide, “Ooooooooh, didn’t they tell you? The group tooooooootally ditched you, John. Jade flipped her think pan and hopped everyone right off the side of the building.”

“They’re dead?” The words don’t quite register with you. Dead? Haha, very funny.

Vriska nods sagely, “After killing the guards I guess they tried to escpe but failed, I guess they decided to end it—wooooooooah there!”

Very suddenly you don’t think you can breathe and your feet loose feeling. You feel the world spinning and the ground rushes to meet your face—but you feel the girl’s arms catch you at the last second. All you can think is no no no they can’t be dead, she must be lying….

The physic reads your thoughts and replies in a silky voice, “John, I’m *offended*! Why would I lie to you?” her voice drips with offence.

“I…I…”

“Shh, John,” she shushes you and her features soften, “Common’, dumbass. We’re gong to get you back to my hive. I can’t leeeeeeeeave my wonderful friendleader in the middle of Altern--this world’s most busy city,” she corrects.

“Y-yeah.” Your voice is just above a whisper. She eases you to your feet and leads you outside. Hobbling out of the store, it is only then you notice the humans scurrying about, walking hunched and throughout the store. They have their eyes cast at the floor and only take the things they need.

“Vriska? My species isn’t dead? The Condensce let them live?”

She doesn’t answer.  
~*~  
Twenty minutes later you are standing(just barely) outside of her house; an enormous castle-like structure on the edge of a cliff. Your friend had tried flying you here, but you were still too out of it to do the Windy Thing for too long. So, cursing and muttering, she had hailed a cab while you clung to a parking meter for balance. The drive here was silent and the human driving in the front seat seemed incredibly uncomfortable at the two ferocious aliens in his back seat.

You flinch at the sudden noise(these ears work too damn *well*) when Vriska slams the car door in the man’s face.  
“I will pay you how IIIIIIII see fit, got it meatbag?” she spits and throws a small coin through the window at the driver, who hastily says thank you and proceeds to floor it back to the city.

“Damn humans, haven’t gotten it in their head who’s in charge yet…er, okay John!” she claps her hands together, “You can crash with meeeeeeee until you can get your head out of your ass,” and before you can fathom a response she pulls you into the castle.

“W-wow, there’s a lot of space in here Vriska…” you stutter with awe. The interior is huge: the walls seemed to be carved from the face of a cliff, swooping and rough, and the doorways arch up and nimbly grace the ceiling. 

“Yea, I guess. Unfortunately I wasn’t a veeeeeeeery brilliant wriggler and had the drones build this huge hive. It gets…”

Your friend scruntches up her face and her eyes kinda go blanc. “Gets what Vri—WOWTHAT’SABIGSPIDER!” equally repulsed yet intrigued, you press your face up against the window of the spiral staircase to get a better view of the gargantuan white spider resting in the bottom of the gorge by the cliff.

You feel a sigh on your neck, “Yessssssss, that’s my lusus. I really have to feed her soon, she’s probably going to wake up in a little while…”

“Feed her *what*?! How do you feed something that big? You turn and look at her expectantly, she’s already turned and continued up the stairs. Huh. She must not have heard you.

Several flights of stairs later, your friend has led you to a large room filled with a strange pod-like structure, a dresser, a desk, and a strange laptop with…legs? Vriska says she’ll have dinner ready in twenty minutes. At this, your eyes go wide.

“You cook?”

“Don’t expect it to be a thing,” she smiles lazy, “And yes, I know my way around a fucking nutrition block, John. I’m *offfffffended* you’d think anything less of my talents. And it’s only for now, since you’re so out of it. Just be ready, got it?” Your friend turns and saunters from the room, hands tucked in her pockets.

You stare after the door for a moment, still bewildered that you’re here, in Vriska’s house-hive-castle-thing, after not getting to see her from her tragic death *but you’re here now,* all because you saved her and…it’s a little crazy, if you think about it. Then you shake your head and tell yourself that you’re over thinking it and are just happy you were finally able to see her. It’s funny, how this is kinda the first time you’ve met but it feels so…right. Like you’ve known her forever.

But you’re broken from your train of thought when you realize *why* you’re here. And he rush forward to shut the door. You flick your gaze (very sharp, you probably don’t even need your glasses anymore), until you see the door to the bathroom. You bound to the door with a few strides and flick on the light.

And you look in the mirror. And bite your tongue. And blink.  
And dammitdont cryyou’rre stillyouyou’restillyou.  
Golden, glowing eyes stare back at you through a tangle of thick black bangs. The irises haze a deep, deep blue. Two large horns sprout up from your thick mane of hair at slight angles from your forehead, reaching back into a curve and stopping just past the back of your head. The tips turned up slightly at the ends. You run a hand abruptly along their length and withdraw at the sudden pain: they’re incredibly soft.

A trembling hand taps the tips—*grey* hands, you think with a gulp—and you notice that your nails are long and pointed, colored orange-yellow. You gasp, revealing sharp, bleach-white teeth.

“Oh God…this is…me. Oh my God.” Bile rises in your throat and your vision clouds. Nonononono it is NOT YOU. *YOU* are unthreatening and pink and *human* and…and…  
Dimly, you are aware of your knees hitting the cold tile floor of the bathroom. Someone is making a horrible racket—it is you, you realize—and it sounds tortured and terrified and you can’t make it stop.

You can’t make it stop.

You curl up in a ball and lose yourself in the screams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to at least get to John's description before I ended this chapter :3  
> Annnnnd I was too lazy to spellcheck, so if you see any major mistakes would you guys mind to inform me?


	4. Storm Brewing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YES. AN UPDATE. I MADE IT HAPPEN. You can think of this as a transitional chapter, where the plot begins to unravel itself. Thank you for patiently waiting!
> 
> Enjoy~

Your name is Vriska Serket and you are wrist-deep in cluckbeast at the moment. Not your favorite pastime, no—this is not for you. Usually you would keep yourself sustained with the various assortments of canned goods in your nutrition block, as you have been this past month. However, with the arrival of one John Egbert, you think that making a proper meal would be the best course of action.

Spending time with him as your—matesprit? Boyfriend? Whatever the fuck—in the dream bubbles has provided you with some rather useless information on the former human, even though the him from the dominant timeline is none the wiser. 

First of all, he *looooooooves* movies. All cinemas, really, even the particularly shitty ones and the complex, confusing films that make up part of Alternia’s culture. In particular, he enjoys movies featuring Nic Cage, a terrible but wonderful human actor with a rugged yet charming disposition that just makes your grubscars tiiiiiiiiingle with the most intense of—

Ok that train of thought needs to end right now.

John is also a lot smarter than the group gave him credit for: He often surprised you with the knowledge of his world (after the initial nervousness passed), and skills involving math, a trait that never really struck you as useful but the way the guy could throw around numbers was impressive. Really, it seemed a little stupid in an alternate timeline he got himself killed, but that was Terezi’s fault and she has an aggravating way of manipulating people even *you* never understood.

Also, despite his strict no-baked-goods policy, he is a sucker for homemade food, and somewhere in your twisted and black heart you know this act of kindness will do him good.

He also cares a lot about his friends—a thing you in the very recesses of your mind you envied—and would do anything to protect them, is sincere, honest, and brave… but you also know that he is very easily shaken. Without his friends on a strange and hostile planet, John could very easily fall apart….

This is a very real fact that comes into effect far sooner than you anticipated when the sounds of his screams reach your sensitive ears. 

You drop the lifeless hunk of meat and rush for the door. You silently curse yourself at having given him a room on the uppermost floors—it’s going to take a helluva lot longer than needed to reach him. The enormous hive that seemed like such a great idea at the time is once again an unnecessary obstacle in your way. Your shoes slap the hard tile floors as you race through your dining hall and up to the stone stairwell.

His screams get louder as they bounce off the walls, and you will your feet to go faster. Now is *not* the time to dilly dally. 

“Fuck it,” you growl, and flip your coat over your shoulders. They hit the floor far below with a dull thud. Your wings are already pulsing against your black tank top; your role your shoulders and push off the stairs. The maneuvering is tricky, but flying is far faster than stumbling up the winding well, and within a few moments you are standing on the landing to one of the tallest towers. 

The boy’s screams have subsided by now, and that fact makes your blood run cold. Swearing, you sprint to his door and throw open the door and

Nothing is there.

The large room is empty, save for the pieces of furniture you had in the respite block prior to his arrival. You take a step in.

“John? Joooooooohn. Now is not the time to be playing hide and seek you know,” your voice is more tense than you intended and you clear click your teeth, a little frustrated. It is then you see that the door to the ablution block is ajar. Light is filtering through the slit in the door.

“Egbert?” Silently, you cross the room.

The door swings open with a gentle whoosh. John is pressed up against the wall with his long limbs cradling himself. His body wracks with silent sobs. A flash of pity pulls at your heart strings. You take a step in, arm outstretched.

A low growl escapes his lips.

“Shit.” You mean to back out but he’s up faster than you thought possible.

“Get OUT!” he roars, closing the distance between the two of you at an alarming rate. Before you can react his claws are swinging at your exposed neck, poised and lethal. You just manage to throw your arm up in defense before his comes swiping down. Blood blossoms from the wound like a flower, a cerulean pedal display slashing along the walls.

That hurt more than you care to admit. The attack did damage but John is horribly uncoordinated in his Blood Rage, and topples forward, giving you space to leap back, hand clutching your wounded forearm. You take the moment to assess the damage: it hurts like a motherfucker, but it’s longer than it is deep.

“That the best you can do?” you smirk, whipping your arm back and crouching low. John regains his balance long enough to snarl and strike again, rising up from his lower position. Heh. Novice move. You jerk back as his fist comes sailing upward, just gracing the air in front of you. Your hands come up, one after the other, and grip his arm fiercely. A strangled cry flies from as his lips as you follow through with his momentum, sending him sailing up and over your head. He lands with an “umph” in the respite block behind you.

“Jeeeeeeeez, John, I didn’t expect you to flip your shit that quickly,” you mutter, mostly to yourself. You spin around and quickly cover the distance between you and the tangled mess of limbs that is John as he tries to right himself. You plant a foot on his back and shove his forward. He snarls obscenities. 

“Oh, can it.”

Sighing, you straddle him from behind and grab hold of his considerably large horns. One press to the base with the heel of your thumb, and he’s out like a light. Troll horns are horribly sensitive things, especially the bases. 

“Dammit John,” you breathe, bringing your arm up to observe to wound. Upon second inspection it *is* quite deep. It’s going to be a while before it heals. You look at the collapsed troll at your feet, “Not a good first day.”  
~~~~~~  
For the second time today you wake up with a massive headache. This time, however, the light in the room is not a huge surprise, and you guess that it’s just your night vision being a bitch. The objects in the room are a bit fuzzy though, but you dismiss it as a friend of the terrible drumming assaulting your head. You lift your arm to inspect your scalp only to be seized by an unknown assailant. You promptly burst into a snarl.

“Woah, woaaaaaaaah calm down!” A familiar and over-dramatic voice meets your ears and your growl subsides. Holy shit, where’d that growl come from?

“Vriska?...” your voice is dry and your throat burns.

“Yeah, it’s me. Don’t try to move to touch your horns: I don’t want you hurting yourself.” Her voice sounds strained. 

You blink and the room comes into greater focus. It seems you’re in your guest room again. But how did you get from the bathroom to here? “What,” you shift your gaze until it settles on the troll girl. She looms above you, sitting crisscrossed to your right, “what happened?”

You may be out of it, but there’s no mistaking the way her eyes flick to her arm. It’s wrapped in a stained bandaged. It takes you a second to realize that it’s stained blue with her blood. You’re throat seizes.

“Oh.” You manage, sounding quite foolish. Your own voice bounces back at you across the stone walls and you flinch at the stupidity it drips. Heat raises to your cheeks and a warm tear leeks its way down your face. You reach a hand to wipe it away. Vriska doesn’t stop you.

“Pleeeeeeeease, John, don’t start crying. It’s laaaaaaaame. And trust me; I’ve been hurt far worse.” She pokes fun, but you hear concern in her voice that frankly throws you off. Something along the lines of, ‘don’t cry, I’m fine, see?’

“Really?”

“Yessssssss,” she groans, then her voice notably softens, “yes, John, I promise.” Vriska then rises and looms over you, uninjured arm outstretched. You sit up and the room spins a bit, but you hold your tongue and bear it. You take her hand. She pulls you up.

The two of you stand there, face-to-face, in a sort of awkward silence. Her breathe comes out in gentle huffs, and yours a little strained. You take a moment to take in her *Vriska-ie-ness.* She is a quite a bit shorter than you, but skinny and lean. ‘Lethal,’ you think. Her wild mane is pulls back in a barely managed pony tail, and you think she must have done it when she went downstairs to cook because you distinctly remember it being down last you saw her. Your eyes sweep a little lower and you notice she’s wearing her red sneakers and blue jeans, your eyes follow a little higher and you break into a light blush. 

She’s wearing a thin black tank top bearing her symbol that shows off her shoulders. Behind them her wings beat lazily with the slow of her breathing.

“You have blue blood.” She deadpans, breaking the silence. You startle and blink, bringing your eyes to hers. The blush on your face glows hotter. Stupid stupid stupid! You’re standing two feet away from her she probably things you were ogling at her and—wait what was that?

“Huh?”

She rolls her eyes in an exaggerated manner and sighs like you’re an ignorant child, “A blue blood. I figured it was something up there considering the Blood Rage. Only hiiiiiiiighbloods display it, and only when thrown in a situation of great distress. It pretty annoying, and often ends with more than one person dead as a doornail. It happened in our group on the meteor…but I know you’re blue because of your idiotic blush.” She grins. 

Dammit, she *did* catch you in the act.

“So…Blood Rage? Could it happen again?” despite her rare smile you can’t help but feel dread play at your mind. If you managed to hurt Vriska of all people…then…then…

A sudden knock to your shoulder drags you from your thoughts. 

“Huh??”

“You were shaking. Don’t freak on me noooooooow John, c’mon!” she hits you again, playfully, “Don’t sweat it, fearless leader. You just need to keep your dumb human emotions in check. You’re a troll now, act like one!” those last words sting a bit, and her eyes widen as she realizes her mistake. “Oh. Shhhhhhhhit. My bad.”

“No, no—you’re right.” Casting your gaze down, you look at your hand at your side. Grey. You flex the appendage and muscles—ones you forget you developed over the game—though much more defined in your new body. The tips of your clawed fingers are stained lightly with blue. It makes you want to heave. You need to be careful. You need to pull yourself together. 

“I can’t let this happen again. I can’t hurt all I have left.”

Vriska clears her throat, “Well, we can’t sit around moping like mopey mopers all night—day, whatever. Fuck the new time shit. I made dinner for your needy ass,” she is suddenly at the door in a swift, easy movement, “Hungry, Egbert?” She raises an elegant eyebrow and you nod enthusiastically.

Your stomach seems to agree, roaring loudly. She snickers. You tell her to shut up and suggest you kindly get the hell down those stairs.  
~~~~  
“Yes! That is the entire story, geeeeeeeez! No, I didn’t leave any parts out, yes I’m safe, and yes I still have the stupid gun! No! No I did not lose your old one: I just combined it to make it better. Sheesh! I’m not *that* irresponsible. No. No I’m not. I’m a sixteen-year-old who saved the word I think that I have gained the title of Responsible. I will talk however I like to you!” 

Who does he think he is? You save two universes and he still treats you like a little girl! Though you guess…you can’t blame him for being the least bit concerned. He still thinks of you as his little girl after all. 

You give the old man a hug and kindly ask him to stop arguing with you now, you have guests to attend to, and he reluctantly agrees. But you must come and speak with him later! Of course of course, you promise. Pinky promise? Such a notion that you’d mean anything less than a pinky promise is outrageous! Silly old Grandpa.

“Um, Jade,” Rose’s calm(though notably concerned) voice brings you back to reality, “I hate to interrupt your reunion with your taxidermy-grandfather, but we really must be getting on with the meeting. Karkat and his ever-present charm can only stall a bunch of flustered adolescents for so long. “

“Oh! Right. Hehe, sorry, Grandpa is being especially meddlesome. Yes, you are! Oh shush. I’m leaving now. I LOVE YOU TOO. GOSH.” You give the old man a quick kiss on the cheek before hurrying out of the room with Rose. She looks more than a little perturbed by your exchange.

“Jade,” she starts, and by her tone you can tell she is tip-toeing, “If you ever want to…*talk* about your…Grandfather. And you and he’s relationship. You know. You know I’m always available, yes?” The two of you approach the arched doorway to the dining room, and you laugh.

“Rose, I’m not crazy. But yeah, I’ll keep that in mind!”

“I—” she starts but you are already halfway through the door, bouncing on your heels—you don’t have time to talk about dead Jakes!

The grand dining hall is enormous, but most of its space is taken up by the enormous table and low-hung chandelier. A huge fireplace lights the room, casting the room in an orange glow you’ve always found honestly kind of spooky, but the trolls love it so you have hosted all of the meetings here. Everyone has chosen their own place around the large table. You have learned all of their names by now (a fact that is absolutely great, you don’t even need the bands anymore!) and have noticed the different attractions among the group, primarily through the current seating, as you don’t see much of them outside of this room. 

Aradia and Sollux take their seats closest to the fireplace, with Aradia talking animatedly while Sollux just seems to barely keep up with her words. You always thought the two were complete opposite, but they apparently are very good—mates? Partners? Troll romance is weird. Tavros sits across from then, and occasionally provides his input. He and Aradia seem like good friends. Rose takes her seat by Kanaya, who sits close to a large window and takes Rose’s hand when she sits down. Terezi is pacing back-and-forth by the doors to outside—she really doesn’t like to sit still—and Karkat sits at the head of the table, moping and being a general grouch. It seems he’s finished talking for the moment. You cross the room and take your place next to him. 

“’Bout time Harley,” he growls.

“Love ya too, fuckass,” you blow him a kiss and plop gracelessly in the seat next to him. You small group quiets. Terezi takes a seat by Tavros. An air of seriousness settles on the room. Karkat, as usual, takes the lead:

“Ok you nookwhiffs, I know this have been all nice and fucking cozy ever since Jade zapped us to this weird island of hers. But the facts remains that we just won a game that literally destroys universes and we’re scared here all because of a fishbitch that we already killed twice. We’ve had our month of peace. It’s time to put some things into motion.” His voice rips through the air, loud and pushy as always. 

“Who thays we have to do anything KK?” 

The shouty troll beside you bristles, “Your fucking leader, Thollux. That’s who. This is*our* planet, dumbass, not hers. We shouldn’t have to cower like little grubs in our boots. Plus, I don’t know about you, but I’d really like to fucking see my lusus again. Try to live *life* again.” Karkat looks genuinely ruffled, more so than usual, and you realize that you are the only one who has been able to have a reunion with your guardian. The others must be worried sick.

You feel awful.

Sollux huffs and sinks down in his chair. His horns cackle red and blue with annoyance.

“Anyways. We need ideas, grubfucks. A way of winning back this planet *we* made, and *we* fought for!” The group nods in agreement. Sollux grumbles under his breath.

“And for Cherries and Blueberry Snow Cone,” Terezi adds, tapping her fingers on the table. A wave of determination washes over you—right. You’re brother and your boyfriend are still out there. Somewhere. 

You hope.

Tavros breaks the uneasy silence. His uncertain voice warbles, “Uh, you’re right but. How could we ever do anything? We only have three God Tiers and, well, no offense. But. You can’t do much other than, ah, teleportation, Aradia can only slow down time a litte and. Whatever you do Rose. Sorry!” He squeaks when Kanaya shoots him a look.

“It’s, ah, true though…Just asking.” The small troll blushes and looks like he’d rather be anywhere in the world right now other than beneath the vampire’s disapproving glare.

“Great question Tavros!” you quickly pipe, drawing everyone’s attention your way, “Karkat, I actually have an idea! I was thinking. People only listen to the Condense because they’re afraid, right? The majority of your race hates her…and *all* of ours do,” a pang of anger tears at you. Everyone nods. Karkat grunts in agreement, “So…I was thinking. What if we were to stage a coup?”

“A coup? Againth the Condenthe? Now I *know* you have a few thcrewth looth dog-girl,” Sollux snarls. He shoves himself up from the table, “You guyth can go ahead and pull a group thuithide. I’m out.” Karkat opens his mouth to gab at him, but Aradia shakes her head and he clicks it shut. The door slams as the lanky troll exits.

You are suddenly unsure of yourself. Sollux may be a douche, but he is one of your only strong douches. If he’s out, this will present a major obstacle in your plan. You knit your eyebrows together and look at the ragtag mess of kids before you. It’s true, you certainly don’t look much of a threat: you look like a bunch of kids that just want to go home. Tavros sniffles.

“Pay no attention to him, Jade. He will turn around, I am sure of it!” Aradia breaks your contemplation, and you look up. She smiles warmly, and gestures for you to go on. Right. No matter what, there has got to be a chance. 

You clear your throat, “Yes, a coup. I can teleport us back to the city—all over the world, even. I just need pictures of places. It’s not much considering what my powers used to allow but…it’s the best I can offer,” you’re voice grows louder with confidence, “I can get us anywhere we need to be. We can gather followers and start a secret movement! A move to throw out the Condense.”

You wait for your idea to soak in. No objections, that’s good at least. Kanaya speaks up, “That is a wonderful idea and all, but you realize it will be incredibly difficult? This plan requires unprecedented secrecy and control, not to mention many of the lower class would turn us in at a moment’s notice to get in good with the government.”

Your knees start to wobble. Dammit, get a hold of yourself! 

You take a deep breath.

“Yes.” Ok, no shakiness. Good start! “Yes, I know. But it’s the only plan we have. And if it works…we’ll be free. All of us. We could get our planet back! It’s better than rotting on an island. Our friends are out there,” You stand up in your chair, “Our families are out there! Dammit, our *reward* is out there! I did not come this far to be driven into a corner. It’s time we show the Condense what happens when you corner an animal. Screw the risk, let’s do SOMETHING!”

“Jade…” Karkat is uncharacteristically quiet when he places a hand on your shoulder. You realize you are tearing up. But you don’t care:

They have to believe you, they have to fight!

Slow clapping breaks the silence. You look at the source—Terezi—and release a breath you didn’t know you were holding when you see her enormous grin.

“Nice speech, Harley. Well,” she stands up from her seat and rests her hands on her hips, “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m in. Karkat?”

“Hell yeah.” Your friend stands up beside you.

“What’s one more impossible mission?” Rose smiles and stands. 

Kanaya looks at you with pursed lips,“I suppose…it is our last hope. Tell me what we need to do.”

“Count me in! Uh, if I can help.”

“How wonderful! Another adventure! And if we fail, we’ll throw the loveliest of human funerals!” 

“Fucking fantastic,” Karkat grumbles. You laugh.

“Well, that’s it then! I’m you’re doggy girl! Let’s win this thing.” As you look out at the room full of bright and eager eyes, you can’t help but feel like you actually will.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to say thank you to the people who encouraged me to continue writing. I wanted to finish this piece but lacked the motivation, but thanks to all you lovely fans I've found a new push to write. This and Buck-Toothed Addiction will be updating as soon as possible :) Suggestions, criticism, and compliments are always welcome, hehe. 
> 
> I love you guys.


	5. Growing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's hard being a boy-turned-troll. It's hard and nobody understands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WEEoooooo another chapter! I stayed up till three making this >:U I read over it but there may very well be some mistakes. Catch them and tell me if you will? Hope you enjoy~

“So John, you’re a troll. And a highblood at that. More so than even meeeeeeee in fact,” you click your teeth with consideration, “so there are some things you should know about.”

You are currently holed up in your respite block, shades down and curtains drawn. You know it’s not entirely necessary anymore, especially now that your species are actually *awake* during the not-too-bright-day, but you suppose old habits die hard. 

After stuffing his face (seriously, what the hell had they been feeding him in the castle, he ate like a starved wriggler) with your maaaaaaaarvleous cooking, you had sent John up to his block to get some decent sleep. You remember doing the same after swapping out the bandages on your arm, before sinking into your good ole’ ‘coon for some well-deserved rest.  
Looking at your hive-guest, you wonder if he did the same.

“Yeah.” John replies listlessly. You sit perched on the edge of the recoupracoon while he takes a seat cross-legged on the floor before you. He’s slumping, and seems to be having problems paying attention.

“Joooooooohn? Are you even listening here or am I just wasting my breath?” you huff indignantly, flipping a stray piece of hair from your eyes. If he isn’t going to listen then fine, you have plenty of irons in the fire to deal with, none of which involving his ungrateful ass.

“Huh? Yeah!” the boy-turned-troll sits up a little straighter and blinks a few times, “Sorry Vriska! Dad always said I zoned out in annoying times, haha! Uh, what were you saying?” A strained smile stenches across his face.

“You’re a *highblood,* so things are going to be significantly more difficult when adjusting. For one thing, you need to watch your temper.” A tiny voice in the back of your mind screams hypocrite!, but you kill it with fire. Who has anger issues? Certainly not you!

John nods, weary, but looks at you earnestly. His ears bend up, alert. He kindof reminds you of a barkbeast. You can already hear the question in his mind before it perches on his lips, “Does being a highblood mean anything else?”

“Oh John, being a highblood means a wooooooorld of difference! Shame on you for being so ignorant!” You leap off the lid of your ‘coon and rest your hand on your hip, “Being a highblood only means you have to be respectable and strong in every footstep, every *striiiiiiiide,* every inch of your being,” you pause to smile, “Or that’s what I’d say if I was a stuck up prude. Nah, we’re just cool as fuck.”

He looks a little better, and even offers you a smile. It does flippy things to your acid-trap and frankly makes you feel stupid. 

“Teach me in the way of the badass, Oh Highblood,” he says, bowing his head. You smack him and he laughs, “Hey! What was that for?”

“That’s Her Honorable Badass to you.”

“Fine, fine, ‘Honorable Badass,” he exaggerates the words and puffs out his cheeks, “What exactly does that mean doing?”

“For one thing you should reeeeeeeeally learn Ancient Alternian. Yeah, yeah, I know we all speak Earth English,” you snap before the question leaves his mouth, “but this language is the thing every troll can speak without thinking. Growls, clicks, chirps, etc.”

A funny look crosses his face and you barely suppress a giggle. You’ll give one thing to the idiot: his expressions are entertaining. He looks like he is about to pose the question of a lifetime, but what comes out completely throws you off guard.

“We chirp?”

You bravely attempt to fight the facepalm times two combo, and you fail spectacularly. One does not simply *ignore* the combo.

“Do we—really? *That’s* your—yes,” you sigh, “We chirp. The language will come pretty naturally, John.” He looks ready to groan, but you quickly snap,  
“Get over it! That’s pretty much the first and foremost thing you should know right now. We don’t want you getting culled by accidentally misinterpreting some higher blood’s Alternian. So. What have we learned so far?”

You slowly step forward, making a slow circle around the troll. He listens intently, “You are a highblood. You must act with *some* shred of dignity,” Your fingers tick off, “Blood Rage, bad; sanity, good. Keep your temper, and pay attention to the sounds you make. Got that? Any queeeeeeeestions John? If you *do* have some, make ‘em quick. I have soooooooo many—”

“Irons in the fire?” he finishes, and you grin.

“Exactly.”

A frown punctuates his face, “Yeah, actually. Trolls have, uh, powers and stuff right? Like. You can read minds and some of you raise the dead, and I *swear* there was someone you mentioned having super strength right? Also, what’s up with these horns? And, uh,” his face flushes again and he stumbles on his words.

“What?” 

John looks away from your face and suddenly becomes very interested with a broken eight ball at his side.

“Well. Um. I tried to use the bathroom right? And, well,” his face goes bright blue and his eyes look like they’re about to pop right out of his skull; you pretty sure you look the same. Really? He’s asking YOU this??

When his voice recovers, he squeaks, “Nothing’s there?”

“Egbert. Stop. Pleeeeeeease? Let’s start from the beginning—I SAID NOPE,” you answer, hearing his insistence in his mind, “I’m going to answer those. Ok?” You sigh and squat down in front of him. John blushes and nods, but looks you in the eyes, orange orb glistening with curiosity.

“Yes, trolls have powers. However, you typically see them in mutated lowbloods. There are cases where highbloods--like yours truly--have them, but they’re not really heard of. So yeah, if you have any, you’ll derp around and find them in time. I’m sure of it,” you pause and quirk your head. Do you understand? Yes? Okay, moving on:

“Second, horns are a very, veeeeeeeery delicate part of a troll’s body, as you already know,” you don’t give him time to apologize and make you feel all uncomfortable, so you push on, “Pressing the base will sedate a troll and cause massive headaches when—if—they wake up. Usually incapacitated trolls are killed.” You say this and to you it is simply a fact of life, however: John looks horrified.

“Oh, come on, it’s not *that* bad. It’s one of the more painless ways to be culled—stop touching them!” John flinches and pulls his hands away from his horns. You release a breath, “Idiot…anyways, listen. Yours are still soft because you haven’t been outside long enough for the air to harden them. While sensitive, they are also useful for picking up vibrations in Alternian that are too high or low for us to hear that are key to the language, and important for communication between matesprits. No, I don’t want to explain,” you quip.

He stares a moment, presumably taking it all in. John actually *can* look intelligent it seems: he appears to understand everything you’ve said. Until…that question pops in his head again.

“Thanks, really. But still…”

“John,” you snap, before pushing up from the ground and walking briskly to the door. You open it up and turn to say, “I am *not* teaching you how to you the ablution block.”  
~*~  
After a terrifying experience of learning what a bonebulge/nook is and learning how to pee, you asked Vriska if it was safe to leave the castle. Her home was very nice and all, but frankly the hallway and never ending stone hallways were making you a little stir crazy, and the ever-present snore of the unexplained giant arachnid was beginning to drive you crazy. You had no idea how she lived with it there, it’s unheard yet felt(she wasn’t lying about your horns) voice sending dangerous messages to your brain. You hadn’t seen the beast awake, but you knew from its low voice that it was going to be furious when it woke up.

“Well,” Vriska puts a finger to her lip and tapes it thoughtfully. It is then you realize her nails are painted a blue that you assume it her blood color. You wonder if you will have to paint your orange-y-yellow claws the same.

“It would be good for your horns to harden,” her hands drop and she shrugs, “Why the hell not? Plus, you reeeeeeeeally should get to know your new troll body. I think you’ll find it…stronger than your old one.” You love your friend to death, but the pointed smile she shoots sends messages of ‘DANGER’ through your body. You sheepishly smile back.  
*  
And now you find yourself on the edge of an enormous forest, with trees reaching up towards the clouds with enormous blue branches that clutch thin, feather-like leaves the color of amber. Sounds of life teem from within, and you have to remind yourself that only a short run back is total desert. The landscapes here sure are extreme.

From within the strange forest the voices of nature ring out in a hectic symphony of chirps and tweets that send chills of excitement running through your veins. At the same time you are bombarded with a whole assortment of different scents and sites from within, senses amplified with your new body. And though you find yourself invigorated with this new level of heightened sense, you can’t help but hear the old you stirring in the back of your thoughts. This is strange. This is wrong, so wrong for a human. You’re not a predator.

‘Oh, but I am. Now.’ You shake your head to clear the troubling thoughts, and let the forest do its work. In no time your body falls back into a state of easy confidence, and you jump when a rumbling sound emits from your throat.

Vriska cackles and you feel your face burn again. It’s not fair your body does all this stupid new stuff! You deserve to brave your surprises sans-embarrassment. But dammit, she’s still laughing, and you’re steadily getting hotter.

“W-what is it?” You manage to stutter out.

“Oh maaaaaaaan, John, you may be more hope—ha!—hopeless than I—oh Gog that was great—than I thought!—ahhhhh that was good,” she wipes a tear from her eye, “That was a pur, you dope.”

Embarrassment is quickly replaced with curiosity, “I purred? Awesome! I’m like some navii or something!” Despite everything, you feel more than a little aw-struck. Vriska gawks.

“Yeah, yeah, get over yourself. It’s just a pur; everyone does it. I just didn’t think you’d react so strongly to a few trees,” she snickers again, but you are too pleased with your navii-ness to care.  
“You ready to go yet Egderp?”

Her words bring you back from your personally reverie and you grin, “Hell yeah!” And before she says anything, your muscles coil and you push off with staggering speed.

The air whips around you like an old friend and dances through your hair as you pump your legs, bringing the most curious and satisfying smells of earth and plants to your keen nose. Around you the forest flashes by in a display of blues and reds and purples, punctuated with patches of open ground.  
It feels wonderful: The endless power in your muscles, the steady deflation and expansion of your lungs. This forest belongs to you, it is yours, and you know that nothing within it could ever harm you. On you bound, leaping fallen logs and racing through occasional clearings until you begin to forget that the real you could never do this. 'But the old you was weak.'   
It’s a wild feeling, with all your senses on hyperaware. The sounds around you are amplified to a degree you never even thought was possible—you can even hear Vriska striding behind you, silent and as far back as she was. You are certain she can never catch up.

CLICK

It’s a subtle sound, but metallic and foreign against the sounds of the forest. 

Your body reacts before your thoughts even catch up with you. Faster than you thought possible, you leap to the right just a beacon of light pierces the lush plant life around you, incinerating and carving a foot-wide gap where you had just been. Every message in your body screams threat.

Snarling so ferociously you scare yourself, you drop to all fours and dig your claws in the soil, body coiled and tensed. Mere seconds later an enormous—thing—crashes through the gap in the forest, assaulting your senses with choking fumes and horrible clicking.

You lunge.

The thing registers you at the last moment and tries to raise its weapon, but you’re far too fast. Springing forward, you grab for the arm clutching the weapon and dig in deep, wrenching it from the socket and sending it flying behind you. Sticky black liquid spurts everywhere, coating yourself and the forest floor with the viscous substance. The gunk only enrages you further.

A roar rips from your throat as you proceed to twist off its head, causing it to beep and shake violently. Leaping back, you just manage to get cover in the remaining foliage before it combusts, sending debris flying.

You are the winner, you! Nothing can harm you, not even this strange creature!

It’s then your vision fades in an out. Between flashes of blue you see your teeth gnashing at the few remaining parts.

“John! Holllllllly shit what happened?” a voice calls from behind you. Quickly, you abandon your kill and duck behind a tree. Soon after a figure breaks through the foliage and stares, bewildered, and the scene before her.

“Damn it…” she mutters, and steps over the remains of your enemy. The fool walks carefully to the middle of the scorched area. She is so close. Just a little more—

“Oh NOOOOOOOO you don’t!” Suddenly, you lose all control and your feet splay out to your sides. You drop unceremoniously to the floor and snarl, infuriated. Who dare do this??? You can’t move!

The female steps around to your hiding place and shakes her head. You growl dangerously up at her.

“John,” she says. You growl louder.  
“JOHN! It’s me, you idiot! I’m not releasing my grip until you calm the hell down.”

And suddenly regret slices through you like a knife. Oh shit. Shit shit shit shit shit-ity shit-shit. You lost control again. Dammit! You gulp and blink heavily, and try to move your limbs. They’re still frozen, so you look up at Vriska, shame eating at your heart.

“I’m back,” you mumble, and your friend’s lips press together tightly. Just as fast, your limbs are again your own. 

You stand up.

A tense silence ensues. Not even the creatures are making a sound now. Careful not to look her in the eye, you dust off your clothes and try your best not to let any tears slip out as you do so. You will not cry. You will own up to what you are. She just stares. You don’t look at her, but you know.

Finally, you whisper:

“Why.”  
“Why what?”  
“Why,” you choke, clenching your fists and throwing your eyes at her, “why do I lose it so quickly? Why, Vriska? If all other highbloods were this FUCKING sensitive like me you all would be dead!” Despite your efforts, you feel a tear escape down your face. You wipe it furiously away, smearing blue on your palm, “I lost it *again.* I was only running,” your voice drops low and an unsuppressed shiver of power runs through you, “Running and oh God, Vriska. It felt so good. Nothing could stop me. Nothing. For a few minutes I was nothing but a mindless animal, and then that stupid—stupid THING attacked me and I tore in in two. In two Vriska! What if it had been someone? What if it had been you??” at this point there’s no point in trying to hold back the waterworks because, oh God, here they come. 

Vriska has enough decency to let you have a moment before you hear her footsteps come closer. And she does the last thing you’d expect:

Vriska drops down and hugs you.

“John,” she whispers. Immediately, you feel yourself calming down, “We’ve been through this. You’re a highblood, and apparently a strong one. Us trolls have powerful instincts that sometimes get in the way, but if you hadn’t reacted how you did you would be soooooooo dead right now. And I’d have no one to boss around,” your friend pulls back to look you in the eye and there’s a weird emotion you’ve never seen before on her face. She’s making some sort of sound, you can’t hear it so much as feel it in your horns and against your chest, but whatever it is, it helps bring your staggered cries to hiccups.

“Anyway,” and just like that, she’s back to business. Vriska rocks back on her heels and in no time is standing above you, “the reason why you’re having problems *not* going feral is probably the fact that troll feelings are so much more powerful than humans’ to begin with. Our species has a hard time keeping them in check without moirails already, so you’re just going to have to work extra hard to adjust!” 

You nod and she sticks out a hand. You take it.

She smirks, “Greeeeeeeeat. Bottom line? Keep your instincts in check from now on so you can still do that—” she points to the fallen robot—“without losing this—” she points to her head. You nod again.

Man, this is going to me much, much harder than you thought. You are going to thank her when a harsh bark cuts through the quiet forest. Almost immediately you are snarling and crouched. You feel yourself drowning in terror before Vriska touches your arm. Deep breaths, Egbert. You can do this.

Vriska is low and lethal by your side. Her breath comes out in a hiss.

“Don’t make a sound. Whoever sent that drone is coming.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yayy cliffhangers. I tried to make this chapter longer than usual.
> 
> I'm so tired. Hope you'all liked it xD more chapters to come, thank you for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> As always, any criticism and feedback is greatly appreciated. And I know this had a lot of dialog, but it was necessary to get the plot rolling. More drama, fluff, and humor to ensue. Hope you like it :)


End file.
